He has been working in waste collection in Albacete for more than 23 years. Wednesday he went to work at 11.00 pm as usual. In his six-hour shift, he empties over 160 bins.

Like the rest of FCC's fleet, his side-loading waste collection truck is equipped with the latest technology. The three cameras installed in the vehicle enable drivers to monitor every step of the process and detect anomalies. The bin is hooked by the truck, then raised and inverted to tip the garbage into a hopper, where it is crushed and compacted.

At around 1.30 am, Candelario was loading a bin when he saw something strange as the garbage fell into the hopper. He reacted immediately, activating an emergency button which stops the crusher, and quickly went to see what had happened. It turned out that a young man, who had climbed into the bin to escape the cold, had fallen into the hopper.

Candelario immediately phoned his foreman, who called the local police, and firefighters arrived minutes later and rescued the young immigrant. Candelario's swift action saved the young man's life by tenths of a second.

Candelario has been showered with praise from his colleagues and many citizens have congratulated the company.